History

In the 1940s and 1950s, individual departments, faculty members, and experiment stations applied for and obtained individual radioactive materials licenses from the Atomic Energy Commission. Various committees were appointed at the college level to oversee and coordinate the use of radioactive material on campus. After the establishment of a Radiation Control Committee and a Radiation Control Department in 1960, the university applied for and received broad licenses for human and non-human usage of radioactive materials. Dr. Billy Dunavant was instrumental in obtaining the broad licenses and at this time was appointed Radiation Control Officer.

The human use license was obtained thru the Subcommittee on Human Use of Radioisotopes, a subcommittee of the College of Medicine Isotopes Committee. While obtaining the broad human use license in 1962, the subcommittee changed its name to Committee on Human Use of Radioisotopes (CHUR) to indicate that it had assumed additional responsibilities such as approving users. In the 1990’s the committee changed its name to Human Use of Radioisotopes and Radiation Committee to indicate that it was assuming responsibility for the use of machine produced radiation on humans. The members of this committee were originally appointed by the Dean, College of Medicine and since the late 1960s have been appointed by the Chief of Staff of Shands Hospital.

After the establishment of the Radiation Control Committee by President Reitz in 1960, college and department level radiation safety committees began to disband because the Radiation Control Committee was given overall responsibility for the use of radioactive materials at the university. The CHUR acknowledged that the RCC had overall authority at the time of the acquisition of the human use broad license.

Chronological History of UF Radiation Control Program

The following information has been obtained from various memorandum, license documents and correspondence in the Radiation Control Office files. In some cases the exact date is given, in other cases the exact date is not know and is estimated.

1944

Dr. George K. Davis begins using radioisotopes in the Nutrition Laboratory on campus.

Early 1950s

A Nuclear Policy Committee is appointed by the president to bring the university into the nuclear age.

November 19, 1951

President J. Hillis Miller appoints Committee on the Use of Radioactive Substances with Dr. George K. Davis as chairman.

April 27, 1956

AEC (Atomic Energy Commission) License No. 9-1891-4 issued to Florida Agricultural Experiment Station at UF. This is a non-human use broad scope license. License 9-1891-2 which was previously issued to Dr. George K. Davis and License 9-1891-3 which was previously issued to Drs. W. Dugger, Thomas Humphreys, and N. Scully are superseded by 9-1891-4 and are no longer valid.

Fall, 1956

College of Medicine is founded and establishes an Isotopes Committee.

October, 1957

The Engineering Nuclear Operations and Facilities (ENOF) Committee was established by the Dean of the College of Engineering to oversee use of radioactivity and the reactor in the College of Engineering. Five subcommittees were used: UFTR, Cobalt-60 facility, Subcritical reactors, laboratories, and Nuclear research.

President J. Wayne Reitz appoints Dr. John D. Reeves of the College of Medicine as Radiation Safety Officer (RSO) for UF. The RSO becomes an ex officio member of the Radiation Safety Committee chaired by Dr. G. R. Noggle.

July 23, 1959

Dr. Reeves, Chairman, Subcommittee on Human Use of Radioisotopes (SHUR), in a memo to the Chief of Staff indicates that the SHUR, which is appointed by the Chief of Staff, did not approve an individual’s AEC license application. Evidently the application was inappropriately approved by the Medical Isotope Committee.

November 9, 1959

Subcommittee on Human Use of Radioisotopes meeting minutes refers to a Isotopes Committee of the College of Medicine which approves non-medical usages of radioactive materials.

June 1, 1960

Dr. Billy Dunavant assumes duties of Radiation Control Officer. He is responsible for the day to day control of radioactivity on campus.

July 6, 1960

President Reitz appoints Dr. George K. Davis as Director of Nuclear Activities. Among his responsibilities are Director of the Nuclear Sciences Building, and Supervisor of the Health Safety Officer (this is actually the Radiation Control Officer, Dr. Billy Dunavant – Dr. Reeves is still Radiation Safety Officer), advisor to the President with respect to nuclear activities.

September, 1960

There are some 20 specific licenses on campus.

September 12, 1960

The Nuclear Advisory Committee approves the procurement of a broad scope license for the university and the appointment of a radiation control committee. Dr. Dunavant will prepare the license application.

September 30, 1960

President Reitz issues memo stating the responsibilities of the Radiation Control Committee (RCC) and the Radiation Control Officer. Dr. Hanrahan is a original RCC member. Dr. John D. Reeves is the committee’s first chairman. Oversight of the Committee on Human Use of Radioisotopes is not mentioned in the list of responsibilities for the RCC. The RCC has university wide radiation safety responsibilities.

November 30, 1960

Radiation Control Guide approved by RCC.

December 16, 1960

Application for non-human use broad license sent to Atomic Energy Commission.

December 22, 1960

Non-human use broad license issued by AEC to the University of Florida. The RCC will approve users of radioactive material.

January 30, 1961

At College of Medicine Committee on Non-Human Use of Radioisotopes meeting, Dr. Dunavant discusses university-wide radiation control program. Bottom line- Committee on Non-Human Use of Radioisotopes (probably the Medical Isotopes Committee) actions and matters of radiation safety must be approved by RCC.

March 22, 1961

Subcommittee on Human Use of Radioisotopes discussed the pros and cons of applying for a broad license for medical use. The SHUR would need to assume additional responsibilities like approving users. It was agreed that a broad license be obtained and that the name of the subcommittee be changed to Committee on Human Use of Radioisotopes (CHUR). It was further agreed that this committee would not be subordinate to any committee except the RCC.

March 28, 1961

Dr. John Reeves, Chairman, Subcommittee on Human Use of Radioisotopes requests approval by the Medical Policy Board to take action to obtain a human use broad license and change the name of the committee to Committee on Human Use of Isotopes (and that this committee be subordinate to the RCC and report to the Medical Policy Board).

April 5, 1961

At the RCC meeting, Dr. Reeves commented on the relationship of the RCC to the ENOF (Engineering Nuclear Operations and Facilities) Committee, the Medical Isotopes Committee of the College of Medicine and the Subcommittee on Human Use Committee. It is the opinion of the RCC that the ruling body on radiation safety activities is the RCC.

October 15, 1961

The Executive Committee of the College of Medicine approves the request that the Subcommittee on Human Use of Radioisotopes apply for a broad human use license. The Executive Committee also approved the change in title to Committee on Human Use of Isotopes to report directly to the University Radiation Control Committee.

February 20, 1962

CHUR approves broad human use license application. The CHUR is the committee designated in the application as having authority to approve authorized users.

May 15, 1962

The RCC reviewed the responsibility and relationship of the Committee on Human Use of Radioisotopes (now the HURRC) to the RCC.

May 15, 1962

An AEC broad scope medical use license (#9-901-4, Amendment 7 dated April 5, 1962) is issued to Health Center. This license specifies that individual will be approved by the local “isotope committee” although a “Committee on Human Use of Isotopes” is listed in the license application.

June 6, 1962

Committee on Human Use of Radioisotopes meets and discusses new human-use broad scope license.

July 2, 1962

Application for the use of radioisotopes in human subjects form and first draft of regulations regarding the medical use of radioisotopes in the health center are approved by CHUR.

January 23, 1964

ENOF recommends transfer of its responsibilities to the RCC. The RCC has functions and responsibilities similar to the ENOF and in the interest of centralizing control of nuclear activities it was recommended that the ENOF transfer its function to the RCC. A UFTR Subcommittee is a subcommittee of the ENOF.

March 1, 1964

RCC assumes responsibilities of ENOF.

July 1, 1964

Florida becomes an agreement state. Governor C. Farris Bryant designates the Florida State Board of Health as the regulatory agency for radiation matters.

November, 1964

Dr. Clyde Williams is appointed Chairman, CHUR.

November 18, 1964

At the RCC meeting Dr. Dunavant recommended that the College of Medicine Non-Human Use Radioisotope Committee be abolished since it is serving no useful purpose. The RCC agreed with this action.

March, 1965

Dr. Ward Noyes is appointed Chairman, CHUR.

January 19, 1966

President Reitz appoints Dr. B. G. Dunavant as Director of Nuclear Sciences Program effective January 1, 1966. Dr. George Davis was appointed Director of Biological Sciences.

Dr. Dunavant’s responsibilities include: Supervising the activities of the Radiation Control Officer who would report to the President through the Director on budgeting and related matters. The Radiation Control Officer would maintain direct authority from the President in the enforcement of a safety program.

October 4, 1971

Dr. Dunavant, Secretary, Committee on Human Use of Radioisotopes, in a memo to the Chief of Staff recommends that the Veterans Administration Hospital human use committee and the health center human use committee be combined as one committee as serve both facilities.

1972

Dr. Dunavant announced as Director of Radiation Control and Radiological Services.

May 24, 1974

Dr. Dunavant announced as Director of the new Division of Environmental Health and Safety established within Administrative Affairs by Vice President William Elmore.

Department of Radiation Control and Radiological Services, headed by Mr. Donald Price, and the Department of Occupational Health and Safety, headed by Mr. Thomas Turk, became the two departments in the new Divison.